<p>We go for 4-5-100 years for a degree that we might not even get a job in. Then pay off the loans with this said "guaranteed job". Everyone encourages and dazzles you with possible jobs but when you get out there, there arent any. A friends mom of mine is like...30 or 40 something and shes still paying off loans. Whats the point of college if you arent going to get a job to pay off the loans you had to take out..Whats the point if you arent going to get a job? Maybe I'm just overwhelmed because of the work load and finances..But its hard to think positive when theres nothing to be positive about. </p>
<p>There’s plenty positives to college- you just need to have realistic expectations. People (parents and high school counselors) need to stop toting the “college will get you a job” line as if it’s fact. Unless you’re going into a technical or scientific field, going to grad school, or want to teach, you do NOT need a degree to get a job. That’s fact. Going to college to get a degree in basket-weaving won’t help you on the outside at all. It might make you a more cultured individual, but unless the degree helped teach you how to market yourself, you’ll find yourself paying off loans for something that didn’t help you make money.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I’ve never heard, “If you go to college, you’ll get a job,” but rather, “If you don’t go to college, you won’t get a job.” </p>
<p>I never heard either one of those; that you wont get a job if you don’t go to college, or that you will get a job if you do go. But I grew up surrounded by people who never went to college. They all had jobs. </p>
<p>I eventually got a job before going to college. It took a while, but it happened. I expect close to the same experience for when I graduate, but hopefully less time. I think my experience job hunting has taught me to not expect instant gratification. Things take time and work.</p>
<p>I think the difference between college and no college is minimum wage jobs vs. a well paying career. Good luck doing something you enjoy and that pays well enough to support yourself without government assistance when you don’t have at least a bachelors degree. Maybe you can get a job in fast food, construction, or a warehouse/factory. Those are good temporary jobs. But you probably don’t want to be doing that your whole life and be poor to boot. That’s the path I was headed down, mostly because that’s all I ever knew. I haven’t graduated yet, but I have a feeling college is going to be worth it. </p>
<p>Maybe you need to have a few years experience working in the real world before coming to the same conclusion yourself. But I suggest you just hang in there because that will only delay your graduation. I guarantee, unless you somehow become successful (which is possible but rare), then you’ll be back! :)</p>
<p>If you really dislike education, and you’re only in it for the career opportunities at the end, then I agree, college will probably he a horrible experience for you. To have a better experience, you might look harder for things you could enjoy while you are there. You should especially fill your elective credits with courses you can get excited about.</p>
<p>People have different perceptions about what higher education is and what purpose it serves. Some people see college as a means of getting a job - this would be the case for highly specialized disciplines, like Engineering and Nursing. Others see it as a means of cultural enrichment and opportunities that do not necessarily entail a specific job or even career field. Others see college as a sort of social mandate - they grew up in a climate where everyone they knew went to college, so it was merely expected. There is no single one size fits all service that education provides to its students. </p>
<p>I’m a 4th year college student and I have taken out zero loans. There are plenty of options for making the cost reasonable, such as commuting to a local university, going to community college and transferring, and/or a part-time job.</p>
<p>You are paying for an education in college, not job training. Conveniently, some jobs out there may require this education. Some majors may provide an education that suits a larger number of jobs than other majors.</p>
<p>Just because you won’t be handed a job doesn’t mean you can’t get one. If you get internships in the field you’re interested and are a likable, competent person then there’s no way you won’t get a job after graduation. The ones that don’t get jobs are the same students who have 0 work experience and don’t know anything about the job they’re seeking besides what they learned from their classes. </p>
<p>I went into college thinking I’m going to learn what I need for the career I wanted. But that wasn’t the case. I did learn a lot of interesting things about a lot of different subjects but none of it applies to what I’m doing now. I graduated with a B.S. in Economics but I applied to a program that is about Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Modeling and I am now a Consultant with a certification. </p>
<p>What I’m doing now has literally nothing to do with what I learned in college. But with my certification and my degree I am able to demand a huge salary in my field and with the work experience I’m getting now I am turning down employers because I know I am worth more and also I already have a job (its funny how the quickest way to find a job is if you already have one). </p>
<p>All in all, you go to college to get a piece of paper. You get a certification to get a piece of paper. Once you get work experience in a niche in a booming industry you are set for your journey into what you want to do. </p>
<p>The employers just want to know that you can actually apply yourself and that you can actually work with other people. It’s the whole how can you help me type of thing. </p>
<p>I enjoy what I do now and it’s the people you work with everyday that makes the job even more fun to do. </p>